Samurai Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
2026-10-02T17:27:42.302Z
I’ve known Andreh for almost 20 years, and it’s honestly difficult to put into words what he has meant to me, not only in jiu-jitsu, but as a person.I first became a student of Andreh’s when he was teaching in Los Angeles. I trained with him for many years, and he was the person who gave me my blue belt. Eventually life took us in different directions. Andreh relocated to Texas, I later relocated to Texas as well, and after all those years we somehow found our way back to each other through jiu-jitsu.I recently started training with him again, and if anything, I’m even more impressed with him today than I was all those years ago.Andreh’s commitment to jiu-jitsu is incredible. Not just to the art itself, but to his students, his academy, and the entire jiu-jitsu community. He truly understands that jiu-jitsu can change someone’s life mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. He wants people to experience everything that jiu-jitsu has to offer, and you can see that in the way he teaches and the way he treats people.He is an absolute wealth of knowledge, but what has always separated Andreh is his ability to actually teach that knowledge. He can take something incredibly technical and break it down in a way that makes sense to everyone. He is patient, detailed, kind, caring, and incredibly generous with his knowledge and his time. He genuinely wants every person who steps onto his mats to get better.Over the years, I tried training at a few other gyms, hoping to reignite that same passion for jiu-jitsu that I had when I was younger. For whatever reason, I could never quite find it again. Coming back and training with Andreh immediately reminded me what I had been missing all those years.From the first day I walked back through his doors, I was welcomed with open arms. And after spending time at Samurai, you quickly realize that isn’t an accident. That culture comes directly from Andreh. There is a genuine sense of family, respect, humility, and community in the academy, and that starts at the top.The academy itself is immaculate. I mean absolutely spotless. It is clean, organized, professional, and you can tell how much pride Andreh takes in providing the best possible environment for his students.One of the coolest things for me personally has been seeing the evolution from the Andreh I trained under in Los Angeles almost 20 years ago to seeing him today, running his own academy, teaching on a much larger scale, and positively impacting so many people. Yet with all of that growth and experience, he is still the same kind, caring, humble person and incredible coach I remember.I’m genuinely grateful that our paths crossed again and that I have the opportunity to learn from him once more. I’m excited to continue training, keep learning, keep getting better, and hopefully help others along the way just as Andreh has done for so many people.The jiu-jitsu community is incredibly fortunate to have Andreh, and anyone who has the opportunity to train under him should know they are learning from someone truly special.Five stars doesn’t seem like enough.